EXCLUSIVE: Former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant says a police officer aimed a gun at him in front of his daughters Sunday after a confrontation with a man he alleges threatened to shoot him following an encounter with two men who he accused or reckless driving.
The incident resulted in Bryant receiving an assault citation, but began when the two men cut him off in traffic and put him in a dangerous situation, and he just tried to tell them to drive safer, he said.
Footage provided to OutKick by Bryant showed an officer aiming a gun in Bryant’s direction. Bryant is also seen lying on the ground in handcuffs alongside the two other men in Southlake, Texas.
Bryant ended up at the same parking lot with them, where acknowledged knocking a phone from one man’s hand during their argument, but disputed how police handled the encounter and questioned why he received a citation after reporting that he had been threatened.
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“I was really more so concerned about my children, you know, looking at their dad, you know, being on the ground with a gun pointed at me,” Bryant said.
The citation reviewed by OutKick lists “Assault by Contact” and identifies the incident location as 2251 E. Southlake Blvd., the same address listed for Chiloso Mexican Bistro. It marks “Arrest: No” and instructs Bryant to appear at Southlake Municipal Court on or before Nov. 20 at 5 p.m.
Bryant said the confrontation began after he encountered two vehicles whose occupants appeared to be interacting with one another at a traffic light. He accused the drivers of cutting him off and continuing to drive recklessly as they arrived at the restaurant, where he was also headed.
Bryant said he told them to stop, acknowledging that he used profanity. He said an argument followed with one of the men, whom the former wide receiver described as a young adult.
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“He go to threatening me and basically saying, um, he’ll insinuate that he’ll, you know, he’ll shoot me or whatever,” Bryant said.
Bryant said he responded with a warning of his own.
“You pull that gun, I’m telling you right now, you better use it because if you don’t I’m going to do something to you,” he recalled telling the man.
Asked whether the man actually drew a weapon, Bryant said: “No, he didn’t pull a gun out on me.”
Bryant said the man instead pulled out his phone and began recording him.
“I told him, you know, get the phone off me,” Bryant said. “So what I ended up doing is I knocked the phone out of his hand.”
The man then said he would call police, according to Bryant, who said he encouraged him to do so because he believed officers would investigate the alleged threat.
Bryant said a responding officer drew a gun and ordered them to the ground. He said his girlfriend arrived with his two daughters and began recording the encounter.
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“I get on the ground,” Bryant said. “My lady pulled up, she got my children, and they seen everything that’s going on.”
According to Bryant, officers handcuffed the men, questioned them separately and placed him in a police vehicle before releasing him with the citation. He said the other men were allowed to leave.
Bryant alleged that police relied on the other man’s phone recording without adequately investigating what preceded it. He said he asked officers to review surrounding surveillance footage, including any available video of the driving that led to the confrontation.
“I would rather you guys take us all down to the police station and do the proper investigation instead of just taking somebody else, you know, side,” Bryant said. “I felt like it was very one-sided.”
Bryant also claims an officer told him that he had to be “the bigger person.”
Under Texas law, assault involving offensive or provocative physical contact is generally a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500. The citation does not identify a specific statutory subsection.
Bryant repeatedly described his actions as self-defense. Texas law makes that determination dependent on the circumstances, including whether someone reasonably believed force was immediately necessary to protect against another person’s use or attempted use of unlawful force.
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Bryant emphasized that he has longstanding positive relationships with individual Southlake officers, including one associated with his son’s Southlake Carroll football team.
“Every time I see him, we talk ball. We just talk about the regular things,” Bryant said of that officer. “It’s always been good. This situation was just extremely unfortunate.”
Bryant played eight seasons with Dallas, earning three Pro Bowl selections and All-Pro honors in 2014. He finished his Cowboys tenure with 531 catches, 7,459 receiving yards and 73 receiving touchdowns.
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He said his standing in the Southlake community, particularly among children who look up to him, motivated him to speak publicly about the encounter.
“My reputation mean everything to me,” Bryant said.
Asked what he wanted from law enforcement moving forward, Bryant called for fairness and a thorough investigation.
“Treat everybody fair. Treat everybody fair. Treat everybody with respect,” he said. “Do your due diligence on what’s actually going on.”
OutKick has reached out to the City of Southlake for a comment on behalf of the police department.